2 tons of pigeon droppings in Swedish church tower

This photo made available Wednesday Nov. 21, 2012 by The Gavle Church Community shows pigeon droppings in the church tower in Gavle after a hatch was accidentally left open for at least 30 years. During an inspection this spring 2,000 kg (4,400 lbs) of pigeon droppings was discovered in the tower. The church’s property manager says the layer of droppings was 30 centimeters (12 inches) deep when it was discovered during a May inspection of the Heliga Trefaldighets Kyrka in Gavle, 170 kilometers (105 miles) north of Stockholm. The cleaning cost was over 8,000 euro ($10,240). (AP Photo/The Gavle Church Community)

STOCKHOLM (AP) — A hatch on a Swedish church tower inadvertently left open for some three decades resulted in 2 tons of pigeon droppings amassing in the tower.

The church’s property manager says the layer of droppings was 30 centimeters (12 inches) deep when it was discovered during a May inspection of the Heliga Trefaldighets Kyrka in Gavle, 170 kilometers (105 miles) north of Stockholm.

Lennart Helzenius said on Thursday that church staff had been shocked by the sheer number of bags of excrement cleaners were removing from the tower. He says the droppings filled 80 bags in the first round of cleaning, and then just as many in the second round.